Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Vodafone Group Public (NASDAQ:VOD)

Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 141,951 call options on the company. This is an increase of 3,499% compared to the average daily volume of 3,944 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VOD. StockNews.com raised shares of Vodafone Group Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Vodafone Group Public from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Vodafone Group Public Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VOD traded up $0.06 on Tuesday, hitting $8.63. The stock had a trading volume of 9,074,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,196,848. Vodafone Group Public has a twelve month low of $8.02 and a twelve month high of $10.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $9.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.35. The company has a market capitalization of $22.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.77.

Vodafone Group Public Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.2423 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 8%. Vodafone Group Public's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vodafone Group Public

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Vodafone Group Public during the 3rd quarter worth $82,716,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 445.7% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,805,044 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $34,055,000 after purchasing an additional 3,107,734 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 345.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,026,713 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,786,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,815 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 1,119.6% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 942,179 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $9,441,000 after purchasing an additional 864,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clifford Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 30.1% during the second quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,012,210 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $17,848,000 after acquiring an additional 465,802 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.84% of the company's stock.

Vodafone Group Public Company Profile

Vodafone Group Public Limited Company provides telecommunication services in Europe and internationally. It offers mobile connectivity services comprising end-to-end services for mobile voice and data, messaging, device management, BYOx, and telecoms management, as well as professional and consulting services; and fixed line connectivity, such as fixed voice and data, broadband, software-defined networks, managed WAN, LAN, ethernet, and satellite; and financial services, as well as business and merchant services.

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